Posted on 05/31/2006 5:34:29 PM PDT by RDTF
TOLEDO, Ohio (Reuters) - A top Republican fund-raiser who is the leading figure in an Ohio political scandal pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegally funneling money to President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign.
In an appearance in federal court, rare coin dealer Tom Noe admitted to three counts of violating campaign finance laws.
He wrote checks to two dozen Republican supporters so they could attend a $2,000-a-plate Bush fund-raising dinner held in the state capital of Columbus on October 30, 2003.
Noe's scheme netted $45,400 for the Bush campaign and he became a top fund-raiser for the party in Ohio, raising more than $100,000 for Bush and other Republicans. Bush beat Democrat John Kerry in Ohio by 118,000 votes, a victory that was pivotal to his reelection.
"I came here today in order to accept responsibility," Noe, 51, told the judge.
Prosecutors recommended Noe receive between 24 and 30 months in prison. U.S. District Judge David Katz may not impose a sentence until after Noe's separate trial on state charges of stealing millions from a rare coin investment for Ohio's worker compensation fund.
The Republican National Committee, in a statement, said it would "continue to fully cooperate with the investigation" and said: "We'll make appropriate transfers as directed by the court."
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
FMCDH(BITS)
And just how is that case of the 2 million that hitlery forgot to mention coming along again???or the, what was it, $300,000 that billyboy got illegally from a Foreign country - (Chinese) - or that Buddhist Temple bit of Gores' or the ....oh, I keep forgetting - they're democrats - no problem
Chump Change compared to Hillary's Hollywood bash.
Nothing compared to Gore's bag carrying money from the temple.
Hey, Gill Frogleg or whatever: the final margin of Bush's Ohio victory was 126,885 -- just under the population of Dayton (166,179) as Ohio's 7th-largest city.
"Pivotal", yes, but not all that close. A huge Bush win in Ohio by any measure.
Additionally, Kerry (who withdrew funds from Ohio well before Election Day -- oh, the irony) lost Ohio by a much greater amount than the number of votes needed by Bush to take WI, PA, MI, and NH in a Reagan-like sweep -- in fact, that number is less than 100,000.
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